Break Your Little Heart.
Two
-Alex-
"Where are we going?" I huff, following the red headed boy back into the trees. "School is that way." I sigh, pointing back behind us.
"Exactly," Alan replies easily, his grip on my hand tightening. "We don't actually go to school."
I silently wondered if the principle had made the correct choice in choosing him to show me around.
"Why not?" I ask out of mere curiosity. I wondered how many of Alan's friends were going to be out here, and whether they would like me or not. I hoped so. Back in England I didn't have a single friend.
"We can't." Alan mutters. He sounds like he doesn't want to talk about it anymore, so I don't question him further.
I simply nod and allow him to pull me further into the woods.
"Does anyone have a light?" A quiet voice asks. I can't pinpoint where it was coming from, but it sounded close. Soon enough, Alan and I were right by the source of the noise.
Alan pulls something out of his pocket, and drops it into someone's lap.
"Alan!" The boy smiles.
"Guys, this is Alex." Alan smiles, gesturing to me. I smile and look around the circle of boys. There's an extremely tall one, with lots of tattoos. I think Alan mentioned something about that being his boyfriend. There was another tattooed boy lying on top of a boy with shaggy brown hair. Then, there were two boys with black hair snuggled up to each other. And one boy sitting alone, nothing but a cigarette hanging from his lips. I couldn't see the rest of his face.
"Nice to meet you!" Alan's boyfriend grins. It was a very nice smile, very comforting and welcoming. It made me feel like they didn't hate me.
"Nice to meet you, too." I smile, willingly allowing myself to be pulled down to the ground by Alan. We sit there, and I finally get to take a good look at cigarette boy.
His eyes are dark brown, his hair even darker, except for the blonde half of it. He has it up, and he sort of resembles a skunk. In a cute way. His fingers are long and lanky, his skin pale, and his features are stunning. I can't take my eyes off of him.
I'm soon to learn that these boys are Austin, Josh, Oli, Frank, Gerard, and the beautiful, Jack. After an hour or two, I find that I've grown quite fond of these boys, and that Jack rarely ever stops smoking.
Alan notices me staring as Jack pulls out a second carton of cigarettes. He pulls me in to whisper in my ear.
"He's addicted. We've been trying to get him to stop since freshmen year, it's no use." He says, pulling away. He gives me a shrug, and watches as Jack lights up again.
"Secrets are lies." Gerard winks at Alan, receiving an eye roll from the ginger boy.
"What are you guys doing after this?" Frank asks. There are a chorus of different answers, but I notice that there isn't one that comes from Jack. Frank notices too.
"What are you doing, Jack?" He asks sweetly, any judging in his eyes completely gone.
"I, uh, I don't know." Jack stumbles over his words, pulling his sweatshirt sleeves over his hands.
"You can tell us, babe. There's nothing to be nervous about." Austin says, assuringly. The group nods towards Jack, giving him their approval.
I notice that everyone in this group loves Jack. Not in the romantic way, but in a family aspect. Jack is everyone's favorite little brother, and they'd protect him with their lives. That's what I can gather. How a specific fondness comes into their eyes when they look at him, and a peaked interest whenever he actually decides to join in on a conversation. It was quite cute.
"I'm going to Matt's later." Jack mumbles quietly, looking down at his shoes. Almost like he was ashamed.
"Like fuck you are." Frank says, getting off of Gerard's lap. This surprised me. "You are never, ever going there again."
"I have to." Jack answers dully, bringing his cigarette back up to his lips. It was like he didn't even care.
"No you don't. We're not letting you go." Alan tells him, a firm tone in his voice.
"You guys don't own me. If I want to go, I'm going." Jack replies, sighing. He leans against a tree, and closes his eyes.
"No, you're not going. I don't feel like pulling you out of a ditch again." Austin growls, staring at Jack in a way that would make anyone feel uncomfortable.
"You never told us anything about a ditch." Alan's eyes are wide as he turns to his boyfriend.
That's when Jack started crying.
"Where are we going?" I huff, following the red headed boy back into the trees. "School is that way." I sigh, pointing back behind us.
"Exactly," Alan replies easily, his grip on my hand tightening. "We don't actually go to school."
I silently wondered if the principle had made the correct choice in choosing him to show me around.
"Why not?" I ask out of mere curiosity. I wondered how many of Alan's friends were going to be out here, and whether they would like me or not. I hoped so. Back in England I didn't have a single friend.
"We can't." Alan mutters. He sounds like he doesn't want to talk about it anymore, so I don't question him further.
I simply nod and allow him to pull me further into the woods.
"Does anyone have a light?" A quiet voice asks. I can't pinpoint where it was coming from, but it sounded close. Soon enough, Alan and I were right by the source of the noise.
Alan pulls something out of his pocket, and drops it into someone's lap.
"Alan!" The boy smiles.
"Guys, this is Alex." Alan smiles, gesturing to me. I smile and look around the circle of boys. There's an extremely tall one, with lots of tattoos. I think Alan mentioned something about that being his boyfriend. There was another tattooed boy lying on top of a boy with shaggy brown hair. Then, there were two boys with black hair snuggled up to each other. And one boy sitting alone, nothing but a cigarette hanging from his lips. I couldn't see the rest of his face.
"Nice to meet you!" Alan's boyfriend grins. It was a very nice smile, very comforting and welcoming. It made me feel like they didn't hate me.
"Nice to meet you, too." I smile, willingly allowing myself to be pulled down to the ground by Alan. We sit there, and I finally get to take a good look at cigarette boy.
His eyes are dark brown, his hair even darker, except for the blonde half of it. He has it up, and he sort of resembles a skunk. In a cute way. His fingers are long and lanky, his skin pale, and his features are stunning. I can't take my eyes off of him.
I'm soon to learn that these boys are Austin, Josh, Oli, Frank, Gerard, and the beautiful, Jack. After an hour or two, I find that I've grown quite fond of these boys, and that Jack rarely ever stops smoking.
Alan notices me staring as Jack pulls out a second carton of cigarettes. He pulls me in to whisper in my ear.
"He's addicted. We've been trying to get him to stop since freshmen year, it's no use." He says, pulling away. He gives me a shrug, and watches as Jack lights up again.
"Secrets are lies." Gerard winks at Alan, receiving an eye roll from the ginger boy.
"What are you guys doing after this?" Frank asks. There are a chorus of different answers, but I notice that there isn't one that comes from Jack. Frank notices too.
"What are you doing, Jack?" He asks sweetly, any judging in his eyes completely gone.
"I, uh, I don't know." Jack stumbles over his words, pulling his sweatshirt sleeves over his hands.
"You can tell us, babe. There's nothing to be nervous about." Austin says, assuringly. The group nods towards Jack, giving him their approval.
I notice that everyone in this group loves Jack. Not in the romantic way, but in a family aspect. Jack is everyone's favorite little brother, and they'd protect him with their lives. That's what I can gather. How a specific fondness comes into their eyes when they look at him, and a peaked interest whenever he actually decides to join in on a conversation. It was quite cute.
"I'm going to Matt's later." Jack mumbles quietly, looking down at his shoes. Almost like he was ashamed.
"Like fuck you are." Frank says, getting off of Gerard's lap. This surprised me. "You are never, ever going there again."
"I have to." Jack answers dully, bringing his cigarette back up to his lips. It was like he didn't even care.
"No you don't. We're not letting you go." Alan tells him, a firm tone in his voice.
"You guys don't own me. If I want to go, I'm going." Jack replies, sighing. He leans against a tree, and closes his eyes.
"No, you're not going. I don't feel like pulling you out of a ditch again." Austin growls, staring at Jack in a way that would make anyone feel uncomfortable.
"You never told us anything about a ditch." Alan's eyes are wide as he turns to his boyfriend.
That's when Jack started crying.